Figured with no one chatting about Marvel and DC over in their thread, maybe it'd be a good time to talk about smaller press comics and what you do and don't enjoy out of them.

Probably after after Marvel and DC, the next step up are companies like Image and Dark Horse, both of whom I've sampled from over the years but I haven't been as consistent a follower with regards to Marvel or DC. Image has put out books I like, such as Invincible and Wildguard, but overall I'm not a huge fan of theirs. Dark Horse I mainly just bought Usagi Yojimbo and Hellboy.

Outside of them, other companies I've enjoyed include:

Antarctic Press - Mainly for their Gold Digger book, which was entertaining, but that series just . . . I don't know. Some characters like Superman and Spider-Man never seem to wear out their welcome. I could read Spider-Man comics until the day I die. But for some reason, Gold Digger just wore out its welcome with me, like at some point it felt like the series just got too convoluted and I stopped caring. But if Fred is still having fun in his playground and making decent money off of it, more power to him.

Dynamite - These guys have generally been a lot of fun, they've really tapped into the Pulp Comics fandom and put out some mostly great books, at least from what I've sampled. Books on Doc Savage, the Shadow, the Spider, the Green Hornet and Kato, crossover books, Kings Featured characters, some Pathfinder stuff, it's generally been a lot of fun.

IDW - These guys are VERY hit or miss with me. On the one hand, I really enjoyed their Ghostbusters comic and their TMNT book was an interesting take on the Turtles. Their Transformers book was the embodiment of the "Hit or Miss" concept, where they could do great things like having Megatron do a Heel/Face turn and become an Autobot, but then just go overboard with how corrupt Cybertron was and so on. And while their Hasbro-verse was a fun idea, the execution left much to be desired, especially with their very cringe-worthy take on G.I.Joe, MASK and Visionaires.

AC Comics - Probably the least known of the companies listed, AC is still hanging in there after all these years. Their company was dedicated to telling stories about public domain characters from the 40s, 50s and 60s, and was best known for their FemForce comic, one of the first all-female superheroine teams. The books read like average 80s Marvel books with some extra cheesecake thrown in, though honestly it's pretty tame compared to other companies. And I have to at least give them a tip of my hat for wanting to tell stories featuring the classic Captain Marvel before DC purchased the character's universe, but decided against it for a few reasons. And honestly, between the main heroine of the setting being this patriotic long-haired MILF built like Power Girl and having multiple giantess characters, I'm surprised Jab isn't a fan.

The new Valiant Comics has some very good continuty(what happens in Bloodshot can bleed over to Harbinger etc.), a nice group of writers/artists who are actually FANS of their comics(you watching DC&Marvel?!), and they even have a rather good RPG system for it(Valiant Universe RPG if your intrested)...
While it does have it's problems(they couldn't get the rights to use Solar Man of The Atom, Magnus Robot Fighter or Turok; They occasionally have issues getting the book's out on time; Their 'Mega-Event's' can take forever to finish,etc.),IMHO Valiant Comics is something i'd recommend to people...

These aren't exactly "small press", as they're really digital or POD only, but I've found a few indie publishers on comixology which generally put out solid product.

Action Labs has two self-contained "universes"-their Actionverse line, which features straightforward superhero adventure books such as Fracture, Molly Danger, Midnight Tiger, and Stray; these all have a vaguely 1980s-DC vibe, with the art and story invoking books like the Teen Titans and later-era Robin (Dick Grayson)/early Nightwing. The Fracture book is the exception, which is more of a Marvel vibe, sort of similar to The Sentry, except actually an original take on a powerful superhuman with dissociative personality disorder, instead of a muddled-up Superman knock off

There's also their "horror heroines line"-Black Betty, Danger Doll, VampBlade, and Zombie Tramp-none of the titles take themselves too seriously, and while I find all but the first a bit too self-consciously silly, they can be entertaining on occasion. Action Labs also puts out a variety of other genres-planetary romance, space opera, noir, etc.

Monkey Brain Comics is similar in their variety of creator owned content, and I've enjoyed Edison Rex (Lex Luthor actually succeeds in getting rid of Superman for good, then actually has to become Earth's defender) and Double Life of Miranda Turner, low-powered action with the sister of a murdered street level hero.

Sugar Skulls Media currently only puts out two titles, the long-running indie Halloween Man and Lucy Chaplin, Science Starlet (the more interesting of the pair, a forty-ish, BBW pin-up who is the Doc Savage of her world); I like them both, mainly for the rich characters and setting, and they feature a mix of good artists with varying styles. They won't be for everybody, as the writer definitely takes sides on certain social issues (transgender rights, evangelical religion, and feminism), so be advised of that.

I found Bubble Comics. Its a Russian publisher, the largest in Russia I believe, that has a few neat comics. Not that many translated into English but those that are seem to be pretty well drawn and written, with the odd translation hiccup.

I wouldn't blame Marvel for Mark Waid's recent shenanigans with Antartic Press and Alterna Comics. Near as I can tell, his lack of presence on social media following the AP Comics incident was because Marvel felt he'd gone too far.

I do find it incredibly ironic that the guy who will attack others for supposed racism, homophobia and so on, and who champions the idea of "the strong protect the weak" has now used his standing in the comic industry to bully not one but two small press comic publishers, both of whom are run by minorities. Now I don't think that being a minority should be any kind of shield, but the SJW crowd clearly do, so seeing them pick on what they consider a marginalized group essentially for the crime of wrong-think is just . . . wow.

All because Alterna Comics' has, in my mind, one of the most rational Social Media Policies ever:

Social Media Code of Conduct

You are required and encouraged to actively promote your title on social media.

We do not condone the use of block bots/blind blocking/block chains or any other kind of program or practice that is used to block thousands of people, blindly, en masse.

We acknowledge that unpleasant experiences through social media, sadly do occur, and creators can block/mute individuals if they have had those unwanted and poor experiences with them. But due to the fact that you would be part of a creative team at Alterna and a team of retailers would need to be able to confidently sell your comics to as many people as possible, we have adopted a policy that discourages the use of anything that would directly affect our stance of full inclusion for readers and creators. We have readers of all walks of life and it is paramount to us, that we encourage, promote, and stand by our stance, that comics are for everyone.

As a creator, if you have poor experiences with anyone in relation to your work - online or otherwise - and feel that you are being threatened, please reach out to us and we'll do everything within our power to work with you on how to handle this situation.

See,that's the reason i have a problem with the SJW crowd.The Above that Ares showed us was a perfectly reasonable Policy for a COMICS COMPANY to have regarding "Online Haters"(my term for the SJW's),but Marvel decided(weither they deny or otherwise) to throw their biggest SJW at these 2 small press companies 'cause they were doing better than the big two,not realizing how bad the backlash would be....

I wouldn't blame Marvel for Mark Waid's recent shenanigans with Antartic Press and Alterna Comics. Near as I can tell, his lack of presence on social media following the AP Comics incident was because Marvel felt he'd gone too far.

You should. He's is using his affiliation with Marvel for these power trips, and as long as he works for Marvel, the company is agreeing with his methods.

You know,it suprises me a little that Marvel hasn't published a statement saying the didn't approve of Waid doing all that.They NORMALLY throw their Employee's under the Public Opinion Bus all the time, so i wonder why they didn't do it this time...

You know,it suprises me a little that Marvel hasn't published a statement saying the didn't approve of Waid doing all that.They NORMALLY throw their Employee's under the Public Opinion Bus all the time, so i wonder why they didn't do it this time...

Because he has the right (rather Left) opinion and is supported by the real Marvel show runner, Sana Amanat.